Ike Quebec

Biography

17 August 1918, Newark, New Jersey, USA, d. 16 January 1963, New York City, New York, USA. Quebec played piano at first, then took up the tenor saxophone in 1940. He worked in several well-known bands, including outfits led by Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge and, later, Cab Calloway, with whom he stayed from 1944-51. He also led his own small groups in the 40s, recording several sessions for Blue Note Records, the first of which produced the hit Blue Harlem. A close friend of the labels co-founder, Alfred Lion, Quebec advised Blue Note on the bebop scene, recommending that they record both Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell.

For much of the 50s, Quebec struggled against heroin addiction and worked various day jobs, including a stint as a taxi driver. He returned to the music business in 1959, becoming an A&R man for Blue Note and also recording for them again - first making several juke-box singles, then a series...